The construction of La Daurade as we know it today began in 1773.
Interrupted by the Revolution, work will resume when calm is restored.
The particularity of the basilica is the presence of a Black Virgin.
But if there are many of them in other churches in the South, that of La Daurade is always dressed in new clothes.
Notre-Dame des Bonnes Couches...
The Black Virgin of the Basilica of La Daurade, patron saint of Toulouse, is also nicknamed Notre-Dame des Bonnes Couches because it is reputed to protect pregnant women.
The statue on display today is the second copy of the original.
Indeed, it was stolen in the 14th century and then reproduced identically.
The statue was then burned in 1799, during the Revolution, in Place du Capitole.
A new statue was then carved in 1807, according to the memories we had of the previous one.
The present Black Madonna, who is 2m high, is dressed in a dress that is changed according to the liturgical calendar.
She is credited with several miracles, including the rescue of the Saint-Michel district in 1672 during a fire. The statue is regularly stripped and dressed again.
The different dresses are offered by celebrities, Jean Charles de Castelbajac offered his own, or by Toulouse people.
One of these dresses is called "the AZF dress", a gift of thanks from a parishioner for having escaped the disaster at the AZF factory in Toulouse in September 2001.
Throughout the centuries, the faithful have offered magnificent dresses and other richly embroidered finery.
Even today, it is not uncommon to come across a pregnant parishioner praying in front of the statue of the Black Madonna.
According to the Episcopal Vicar of Toulouse, she receives about a thousand letters each year, letters from all parts of France but also from the West Indies, the Pacific, Belgium...
Basilique de la Daurade
1, Place de la Daurade,
31000 Toulouse
Tel: 05 61 21 38 32
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